Interviews Renee H. Shea Monique Truong / Photo © Haruka Sakaguchi Monique Truong, who came to the United States in 1975 as a refugee from Vietnam, began exploring untold and ignored histories in her first novel, The Book of Salt (2003), told through the voice of Binh, the cook of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas in Paris. Her autobiographical second novel, Bitter in the Mouth (2010) is a coming-of-age story set in North Carolina. In her most recent novel, The Sweetest Fruits (Viking, 2019), Truong tells the story of Lafcadio Hearn from the perspective of three women: his mother, Rosa; his first wife, Alethea; and his Japanese wife, Setsu. Shea: At its core, The Sweetest Fruits is a story about storytelling—and it’s Russian dolls of narrative! It’s not only that three different women have their say about Hearn and their relationship with him, but each is telling her story to a specific audience—so issues of mediation and agency add further complications, as do oral vs. written stories and translation. How did you arrive at this approach instead of just telling the story in the voice of one person, then the next, then the next? Truong: This question is a Russian doll of inquiries! You’re absolutely right that the novel is interested in the different ways that stories are transmitted to us: oral vs. written, in our mother tongue vs. in translation, private story vs. public history, women’s voices vs. men’s, face-to-face vs.... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2019-09-17 13:54:26 UTC ]
'Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch,' historical fiction about Kepler's mother, is Galchen's first novel since 2008's 'Atmospheric Disturbances.' Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-06-03 14:00:33 UTC ]
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New novels — by turns salty, sweeping and sweet — will transport you to 1930s Italy, 19th-century England and San Francisco a hundred years ago. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-05-27 13:55:12 UTC ]
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Romance novelists make their picks for the season, and they run the gamut from sexy to sweet to a little bit murderous. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-05-27 13:00:00 UTC ]
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From Sally Rooney to Raven Leilani, female novelists have captured the literary zeitgeist, with more buzz, prizes and bestsellers than men. But is this cultural shift something to celebrate or rectify?In March, Vintage, one of the UK’s largest literary fiction divisions, announced the five debut... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-05-16 06:00:48 UTC ]
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Quadrille is to publish Sweet Salone, a cookbook on the food of Sierra Leone by chef Maria Bradford. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-05-08 01:52:21 UTC ]
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The arresting tale of a “lady pilot” in the mid-20th century is interwoven with the story of a modern-day Hollywood actress. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-05-03 09:40:22 UTC ]
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Two big novelists take sharp turns in new books: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie mourns in "Notes on Grief"; Jhumpa Lahiri writes a novel, "Whereabouts," in Italian. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-04-30 14:00:38 UTC ]
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Every love story is built with inherently high stakes. After all, a heart can be the ultimate prize, and courtship a most dangerous risk. And love, as we all know, won’t stop for much. Our hearts pay no attention to timing or impediments, and logic falls by the wayside as we feel the anguish of... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2021-04-28 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Sally Hepworth's 'The Good Sister,' a breakthrough title for the thriller author, debuts at #6 on our hardcover fiction list. Plus Patrick Radden Keefe follows 'Say Nothing' with 'Empire of Pain,' #12 in hardcover nonfiction, and Pepper Teigen joins daughter Chrissy on the cookbook shelves. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Cat food brand Fancy Feast is celebrating the launch of a new line of single-serve feline entr?es with a digital cookbook for pet parents who want to coordinate meals. The downloadable cookbook, called Petite Feast: A Cookbook, features recipes "inspired by their cat's favorite dishes but made... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2021-04-16 18:35:41 UTC ]
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Set in the wake of Germany’s reunification, “The Recent East” follows a country coming together and a teen-ager coming out. Continue reading at New Yorker
[ New Yorker | 2021-04-12 10:00:00 UTC ]
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Novelists no longer shy away from tough issues readers are facing such as mental illness, racial inequity, sexual harassment and abuse, trafficking, and domestic violence. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-09 04:00:00 UTC ]
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This excellent cradle-to-grave biography of a much loved novelist who goes in and out of fashion captures her alarming habits and tormented love affairsIn 1971 the author Barbara Pym was at her day job at the International African Institute when she noticed “Mr C” laboriously attacking his... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-04-08 06:30:07 UTC ]
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Last year, when New York City was the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in America, Bradley Tusk and Howard Wolfson decided to create a new annual award, the Gotham Book Prize, as part of an effort to “honor New York City and support the novelists who best captured the spirit of our city,” as... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-04-06 13:00:34 UTC ]
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Organizations today face a major threat in terms of cybersecurity, from malicious URLs to credential reuse, and having robust security systems can make all the difference. With Machine Learning for Cybersecurity Cookbook you'll learn how to use Python libraries such as TensorFlow and... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2021-04-01 11:33:09 UTC ]
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Discover the rich culture and history of Cuba with these stories, from romance to historical fiction and magical realism. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-04-01 10:30:00 UTC ]
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TV personality, cookbook author and former model posted final tweets to 13.7m followers before shutting down account Chrissy Teigen said goodbye to her 13.7 million Twitter followers on Wednesday night in a series of posts acknowledging the abuse and hatred on the platform.“Hey. For over 10... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-03-25 12:40:11 UTC ]
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“By relearning his grandmother’s old style of storytelling, Márquez began telling a story unlike any before.” Angus Fletcher on what Gabriel García Márquez understood about rediscovery. | Lit Hub Criticism Are climate change novels a form of activism? Seven novelists weigh in, including Pitchaya... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-03-24 09:30:49 UTC ]
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This year marks the sixth anniversary of the 2015 Paris Agreement, an international accord that marks the first time nearly every nation on Earth promised to tackle the climate crisis. The goals set by that agreement, however, have not been met. As the climate crisis worsens, more novelists than... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-03-24 08:53:41 UTC ]
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Welcome to Ad Age’s Wake-Up Call, our daily roundup of advertising, marketing, media and digital news. If you're reading this online or in a forwarded email, here's the link to sign up for our Wake-Up Call newsletters. Touchdown for Amazon Good morning! Amazon executives are sure having a... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2021-03-19 10:00:00 UTC ]
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